Brant's January 2021 Playlist

I think everyone is a tad apprehensive about what the New Year brings.

Wow.  Three days late on this one.  I wish I had some excuse for why this playlist took so long, but I don't.  Can't even blame it on a New Year's hangover.  But anyway, here 'tis.  To listen on Spotify, click HERE.

1.  Murphy's Law (Róisín Murphy) - Murphy's Law states that if anything CAN go wrong, it will.  I don't want to be pessimistic about 2021, but that definitely applies to 2020.  Luckily, Róisín's seductive groove makes it easy to forget the bad times. 

2.  Making Love (Sir Woman) - Singer Kelsey Wilson of Texas band Wild Child goes solo and serves up some more sexy grooves.

3.  You've Changed (Studio Rio and Billie Holiday) - I heard this somewhere and immediately recognized Billie Holiday's voice.  The backup band threw me off though, because it sounded so contemporary.  A little research led me to this project from 2014.  Classic vocalists were paired with a modern band for Bossa Nova reboots of some of their most memorable songs.  The entire album is great!  Highly recommended.  

4.  U 2 Luv (Ne-You and Jeremih) - Multiple Grammy-winner teams up with another R&B artist and tosses in an Mtume sample for good measure!  

5.  Work Is a Four-Letter Word (the Smiths) - I love being surprised by cover songs.  This was on a Sire Music Sampler from 1987 I recently acquired, and is the Smiths covering Cilla Black. Apparently, this is one of the songs that broke up the group.  Lead singer Morrissey loved it and guitarist Johnny Marr hated it.  Marr soon left the group, saying "I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs."  

6.  La La Love Me (Lola Lennox) - Annie Lennox's daughter keeps the 1960s vibes going with this ebullient ditty.

7.  Honeybody /Mattsoro Remix/ (Kishi Bashi) - Funky remix of the 2016 Kishi Bashi song.

8.  Supernova (Kylie Minogue) - Kylie never strayed too far from disco, but she really leans into it with this song - right down to the outer space references and robot voices!  

9.  Donuts Mind If I Do (CHAI) - A little sugary Asian persuasion courtesy of Japanese alt-rock band. 

10.  Long Blue Light (Leif Vollebekk) - Pensive ballad from Canadian Indie artist. 

11.  Take the Highway (Blackberry Smoke) - It never takes a lot of arm-twisting to get me to listen to some Southern rock!  Recommended to me by a fraternity bro.  

12.  Born to Be Alive (Amyl and the Sniffers) - Growing up in the 1970s, there was always a thin line between disco and punk rock - with bands like Blondie even doing both!  What a treat to hear this punk band nailing a Patrick Hernandez dance floor classic!  

13.  It's Quiet in Beverly Hills (Yungblud) - I'm digging the new Yungblud album.  We had "Cotton Candy" on last month's playlist.  Here's another fave from the new record.  

14.  That Thing You Do! (Billie Joe Armstrong) - Another repeat from last month (new song, same album).  And a nice homage to Grammy-winning songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who died in April of last year from COVID-19.  

15.  Kerosene! (Yves Tumor) - Trippy psychedelic rock from enigmatic artist.

16.  All We Got /Joel Corry Remix/ (Robin Schulz feat. Kiddo) - Looks like 2021 will be giving us a new album from electronic/dance maestro Schulz!  

17.  Jukebox Johnny (Diane Birch) - Birch seems to be inhabiting the space created by 1970s artists such as Rickie Lee Jones and Joni Mitchell, and I'm not mad about it!  Hope we get more from Birch in the New Year!  PS  I do hate the album cover, though.  Yuck.  

18.  ivy (Taylor Swift) - Don't fix it if it ain't broke.  T. Swizzle follows up "Folklore" with another acoustic album called "Evermore".  If she keeps giving us these piano- and guitar-heavy compilations, she'll have to call her new album "FingersSore"!  

19.  Birmingham (Ryan Adams) - I debated putting this song on my playlist.  Adams has been accused of sexual misconduct and emotional abuse by several women.  He has since apologized and is working to do better.  At the end of the day, I liked the song, and until we have reason to believe that he is NOT trying to improve himself - I decided not to cancel him. 

So that's our first playlist of the New Year.  Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season, and let's hope 2021 is a vast improvement over its predecessor.